As the new media landscape continues to threaten traditional media, digital sites are cashing in like never before.

On Tuesday, German media company Axel Springer announced plans to purchase 88 percent of Business Insider for $343 million, valuing the site at a stunning $390 million. The deal increases Axel Springer’s stake in Business Insider to 97 percent.

The wave of digital deal-making has taken many by surprise. “The amount of money is pretty striking, especially for Business Insider,” Poynter media business analyst Rick Edmonds told TheWrap.

Edmond’s analysis aligns with Axel Springer’s valuation; the company said its $390 million valuation for BI is six times the anticipated revenue for the site in 2016, similar to how much AOL paid to acquire Huffington Post in 2011.

Edmonds noted that Axel Springer’s purchase of Business Insider for $343 million is more than the purchases of two major print outlets combined: Jeff Bezos’ purchase of the Washington Post for $250 million and John Henry’s deal for the Boston Globe for $80 million, both in 2013.

The big payday for Henry Blodget’s Business Insider comes as the site just became profitable around this time last year, with revenue growing along with it.

The big money media tsunami is similar to the banking business, Edmonds said, noting that when you start a community bank, you initially secure some depositors and provide loans: “You don’t necessarily need to be making a big profit, but some bigger bank might come to you and say we’d like those additional customers.”

That’s essentially Axel Springer’s play in buying Business Insider and NBCUniversal’s in investing in BuzzFeed and Vox — to join the digital party and draw a younger demographic that can help boost their brands and bottom lines.

“It really is a pivotal point in the changing of the media landscape,” Axel Springer CEO Mathias Doepfner said on Tuesday. “New digital media companies are being built and we definitely want to be a player. With Business Insider we have laid the foundation to achieve that.”

And the numbers show these aren’t isolated deals: Mergers and acquisitions across the digital media and tech industry shot up 24 percent in the first half of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, according to Coady Diemar Partners, an investment bank.

But media analyst Alan Wolk cautioned against lumping these big media deals together, as they all don’t pass the smart business smell test.

“The NBC deal with BuzzFeed [and Vox] was a very smart move on their part,” he told TheWrap. “It brought them a new audience, one that is far better it reaching millennials, and also gives them an entrée into some of the more innovative advertising techniques companies like Buzzfeed have been using.”

But the jury is still out as far as how much Medium will help its buyers, Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and Google Ventures, and whether Business Insider will make Axel Springer the big digital player it seeks to be.

“The Medium deal was very much Silicon Valley inside baseball, and that it does not have nearly the value that investors thought it does outside of Silicon Valley,” Wolk said.

The BI deal’s benefit to Axel Springer hinges on the success of a business model built on finding new forms of digital advertising. “They are very good at getting clicks,” Wolk said, “and they are probably very useful for helping to spread content.”

21 Biggest Media Missteps of All Time (Photos)

The Washington Post's Fabricated Heroin Child Addict

Janet Cooke, who falsely claimed a master's degree from the University of Toledo, wrote a profile in 1980 for the Washington Post on an 8-year-old heroin addict. The story went viral and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1981. Two days after winning, the Post admitted the story had been fabricated and she resigned.

TheWrap

"The Daily Show's" "Blow Me" Blow Up

In 1997, then-host Craig Kilborn told Esquire in an interview that co-creator Lizz Winstead found him attractive, asserting: "If I wanted her to blow me, she would." He was suspended and she quit some time later.

Stephen Glass, formerly a journalist for The New Republic, was discovered to have fabricated almost half of his articles. In 1998, it was revealed that he had invented events, quotes and sources for a number of publications.

Judith Miller of the New York Times was discovered to have reported on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction in 2002 using inaccurate information from unreliable sources. At the time, her articles were used to push the U.S. case for war with Iraq.

Jayson Blair worked as a journalist for the New York Times before resigning in May 2003 when his editor questioned him about similarities between his work and that of other journalists. Blair later told "Talk of the Nation" that his bad habit started when he grabbed a quote from a press conference that he had not attended.

Dan Rather, then a correspondent on "60 Minutes," produced a flawed CBS News story in September 2004 that challenged President George W. Bush's National Guard service. Rather used fake documents to show Bush had received special treatment. Once the scandal made news, several CBS producers were fired.

CBS fired Don Imus in April 2007 for using racial slurs on his radio program, during which he referred to the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hoes." Opponents protested the show, sponsors pulled advertising and the show was canceled a week later.

Getty Images

Sue Simmons F-Bomb Outburst

WNBC New York news anchor Sue Simmons dropped a serious gaffe in a teaser for the 11 p.m. news in July 2008, yelling "What the f-ck are you doing?" on-air. Simmons was subsequently fired, but loyal fans fueled a #SaveSueSimmons hashtag and encouraged WNBC to bring her back.

MSNBC host Ed Schultz called rival pundit Laura Ingraham a "right wing slut" in May 2011, resulting in his suspension and later replacement. The slur was in response to Ingraham’s criticism of President Obama’s Ireland trip while tornadoes were devastating the United States.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation was busted for hacking the phones of celebrities, government officials and members of the British Royal Family on several occasions. The issue became a huge topic after the Guardian reported in July 2011 that the voicemail of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler had been hacked by News Corp., leading to the arrests of a number of top company editors.

Salaheddin Barhoum and Yassine Zaimi were misidentified as the Boston Marathon bombers by the New York Post in April 2013. The publication printed a photo of the men on its front page with the damning headline "Bag Men." They later sued for libel, invasion of privacy and emotional distress.

Washington Post

CBS' Discredited "60 Minutes" on Benghazi

"60 Minutes" correspondent Lara Logan and her producer were asked to take a leave of absence after it was revealed her October 2013 report on Benghazi was flawed. Her eyewitness volunteered information to "60 Minutes" about an attack that differed from the version he told the FBI. She returned six months later.

Reporter Randi Kaye looked a bit under the influence while on air with Anderson Cooper in January 2014. In the "Gone to Pot" segment, Kaye is seen swaying back and forth and giggling while covering the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado.

In July 2014, Twitter users began noticing familiar phrases between BuzzFeed writer Benny Johnson's articles and those of other websites. BuzzFeed found 41 times when he had plagiarized someone else's work or improperly attributed. He was fired and BuzzFeed issued a statement.

Bill Simmons was suspended by ESPN for three weeks in September 2014 for his criticism of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's handling of the Ray Rice scandal. He dared ESPN to fire him for speaking out, stating he'd go public about Goodell if anyone punished him. In 2015 Simmons' contract was not renewed.

Sabrina Rubin Erdely published a story in the Dec. 2014 issue of Rolling Stone that claimed several fraternity members at the University of Virginia raped a woman named "Jackie" during a chapter house party. The story was discredited after other journalists noticed discrepancies in Jackie's story, and Rolling Stone retracted it in Apr. 2015.

Rolling Stone

New Republic's Unwarranted Facelift

Known as the man who bought and subsequently ruined the New Republic, Chris Hughes was blasted in Dec. 2014 by the journalism community for drastically changing the publication. Approximately 50 of the magazine's staffers resigned in protest.

Keith Olbermann's sharp tongue has gotten him into trouble a few times, including his Twitter war with Penn State students in Feb. 2015 over their annual THON fundraiser. Olbermann mocked the university, which two years earlier had been penalized by the NCAA over the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. ESPN suspended him.

"NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams Tells Matt Lauer Suspension Was ‘Torture,’ But ‘Absolutely Necessary’ (Video)" href="https://www.thewrap.com/brian-williams-tells-matt-lauer-suspension-was-torture-video/">Brian Williams admitted in Feb. 2015 that he exaggerated his experience aboard a helicopter that was struck by RPG fire during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Williams was suspended by the network and will return as Brian Williams Demoted to MSNBC Breaking News Anchor" href="https://www.thewrap.com/brian-williams-demoted-to-msnbc-breaking-news-anchor/">a breaking news anchor for MSNBC in August.

Janet Cooke, who falsely claimed a master's degree from the University of Toledo, wrote a profile in 1980 for the Washington Post on an 8-year-old heroin addict. The story went viral and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1981. Two days after winning, the Post admitted the story had been fabricated and she resigned.